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Canada got the last hurrah at the Celebration of Light Saturday evening, closing the three-night event with a winning display. Canada was declared the winner of the event, with Brazil and China finishing second and third, respectively.

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Ovarian cancer

A new type of diagnostic system using sophisticated computer software capable of analyzing and comparing cancerous tissue against a vast databank of digital images of cancer samples could speed up treatment...

Genes

Dr. Martin Dawes thinks patients deserve better when doctors are prescribing medications, starting with the safest, most-effective drugs based on a number of factors that would include patients’ genetic profile. Dawes, the University of B.C.’s head of family practice, is asking 250 patients to submit saliva samples that will be tested for genetic aberrations that could affect the way they metabolize or react to medications. About 50 per cent of prescribed drugs aren’t effective because of patients’ genetic diversity, he said.

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About 1,400 British Columbians have been treated for hepatitis C in the first four months since new anti-viral medications were covered by the province’s public drug plan — far above predictions. The Ministry of Health expected 1,500 patients in the first full year for the pill-based medication.

Legendary Vancouver drag queen Joan-E helps the city celebrate Vancouver Pride Week. For the first time ever the City of Vancouver raises the transgender flag, introduces a new Vancouver Proud logo and raises the Pride Flag kicking off Vancouver Pride Week.

New standards imposed on walk-in clinics by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC have been met with concerns and confusion from both patients and doctors. The new rules are meant to connect more patients to primary care doctors since an estimated 200,000 B.C. residents are actively looking for a family doctor. They’re also meant to ensure walk-in clinics provide the same high standards of care as traditional medical practices where patients make appointments to see a doctor.

A pair of Lyme disease activists say they have uncovered evidence of inadequate diagnosis and treatment for this condition in B.C., although two medical experts staunchly deny the claims. Gwen Barlee, who is also a Wilderness Committee activist, and former B.C. NDP MLA David Cubberley issued a news release citing excerpts from documents obtained through freedom of information requests.

Erectile dysfunction — known to be a signal of heart disease in men — is also a predictor of undiagnosed diabetes, according to research from the University of B.C. published Monday. “For the average man aged 40 to 59 years, the predicted probability of having undiagnosed diabetes increased from 1 in 50 in the absence of erectile dysfunction to 1 in 10 in the presence of erectile dysfunction,” concludes the study in the Annals of Family Medicine.

When 6,000 international experts in HIV/AIDS start arriving in Vancouver today for a biennial conference, many will optimistically talk about this point in time as pivotal. As the beginning of the end of AIDS.

Work safety officials say they are stepping up enforcement on home renovations in B.C. over concerns about asbestos after problems were identified with nearly half of the contractors’ surveys last year.

B.C. doctors are increasingly reluctant to retire, with 16 per cent working past age 65, including 109 individuals over the age of 80, according to the latest data. Of the 11,574 doctors practising in B.C., more are over the age of 70 (817) than under age 35 (799), states a report from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC.

Men age 65 and older are less likely than women to eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables each day and they don’t seem inclined to change, according to a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia. Nearly two-thirds of senior men in Canada don’t meet the five-serving threshold and it doesn’t matter at all whether they have social and emotional support, access to nutrition advice or have their meals prepared by a caregiver or loved one, said lead author Emily Rugel, a PhD candidate at the School of Population and Public Health.

An outbreak of measles in northern B.C. in 2010 can be traced to a single visitor from China, according to research from scientists at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and the University of B.C. The study is billed as the largest using whole-genome sequencing techniques to identify the genetic code of a measles virus and to chart its spread.

The walk-in or urgent care clinic that you visited just once is obliged to be your “medical home” if that’s what you need and want, according to new standards set by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC.

After IBM computer technology proved it was smarter than its champion human competitors in an epic $1-million Jeopardy tournament in 2011, scientists wondered: Might artificial intelligence do a better job than even highly trained physicians at predicting which drugs are best for cancer patients?

Who would have thought that drawstrings on women’s hoodies could harm eyes and faces? Well, it seems they can, and have, though apparently not seriously. And because of that, Vancouver-based Lululemon Athletica is facing another recall.

VICTORIA — When Ombudsman Jay Chalke was handed the job of investigating those botched firings in the health ministry this week, he offered multiple assurances to the public that his office would do its best to get to the bottom of the murky affair. “I am committed to a diligent and professional investigation into this matter,” he vowed in a statement issued by his office after a legislature committee referred the matter to him.